Five charged with felonies in Seattle May Day riots

Protesters are detained by police during a May Day march that began as an anti-capitalism protest and turned into demonstrators clashing with police, Wednesday, May 1, 2013, in downtown Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Five people have been charged with felonies in the Seattle May Day riots, the King County Prosecutor’s Office announced Monday.

Two made scheduled court appearances at the King County Jail, where more than a dozen supporters gathered outside in solidarity.

Raymond T. Miller, 28, was charged with third-degree assault.

Joshua C. Wollstein, 28, was charged with felony riot.

Gerardo A. Hernandez, 18, was charged with third-degree assault.

Marcel L. Davis, 20, was charged with second-degree assault. He remains held on $60,000 bail.

Joshua R. Patterson, 18, was charged with third-degree assault. He remains held on $20,000 bail.

According to court documents, officers witnessed Patterson pick up a football sized rock and crouch into a throwing position. Patterson put the rock into his pocket when officers warned him not to throw it, according to the documents.

According to police, Davis was passing out large rocks to a crowd of about 300 people on Olive Way. He is accused of throwing a rock that hit an officer in the leg, injuring her knee. Officers say they caught up with and arrested Marcel after a short foot pursuit.

Both Miller and Wollstein appeared in court Monday and spoke to reporters.

Miller said he was in downtown Seattle on the day of the protests, but said he did not partake in the riots. He portrayed himself as an innocent bystander and said he and his girlfriend got caught up in the mayhem as they crossed the street near 4th and Stewart.

“We just went to Seattle to just go ahead and have a day,” he said. “Then it just turned into a huge mob and we were going to go ahead and leave and catch a ferry.”

But according to court documents, Miller was part of the protest and punched an officer in the shoulder. Police claim the assault was caught on video and later aired on “The O’Reilly Factor” and KIRO-7 TV.

Wollstein did not deny being a part of the protests and acknowledge committing minor property damage, but said he did not do anything that warranted an arrest. According to court documents, he knocked over a garbage can and threw empty bottles at uniformed police officers.

The five charged with felonies Monday join six others who were charged with misdemeanors Thursday by the Seattle City Attorney’s Office.

Sebastian Harris, 21 and Gregory Husted, 22, were charged with obstruction of an officer and resisting arrest; Bryanna Stader, 27, and Justin Gonzalez, 25, were charged with obstruction of an officer; Paul Novasky, 44, was charged with obstruction of an officer, failure to disperse and resisting arrest; and Devin Bahm, 20, was charged with property damage and obstruction of an officer.

“Be aware that the Seattle Pigs say that they are working ‘feverishly’ to identify further May Day suspects,” anarchists wrote on a post distributed through social media over the weekend.

Police have asked for help from residents who might have video of the Wednesday night demonstration they could turn over, or who may know those in photos showing unlawful behavior. Even if you don’t turn in photos or videos, police ask that you save the images.

The Seattle Police Department is forming a task force to investigate all criminal activity that occurred during the May Day evening demonstration.